(Re)Design Your Course for Civic Engagement

2024 Center for Civic Engagement and State Farm Course Development Grant
Center for Integrated Professional Development

Faculty and Course Instructors are invited to submit a proposal to participate in the Summer 2024 [Re]Design your Course for Civic Engagement . Civic Engagement is one of the core values outlined in ISU’s mission statement, Educate • Connect • Elevate and Excellence by Design: 2024-2029 (in draft). Through the cohort model, faculty benefit from the support of colleagues, Center for Civic Engagement (CCE) and Center for Integrated Professional Development (CIPD) staff, and people from various campus and community civic engagement initiatives as we work to incorporate civic engagement into the learning experiences of students. The goal is to broaden ISU’s commitment to the values of community membership, equity, diversity, and inclusion, and institutionalization of civic engagement across the curriculum. We seek to include courses from a variety of disciplines and programs.

Expectations

Course Instructors selected to participate in this cohort will spend the equivalent of four days (~24 hours, both in-person and on their own) working to integrate civic engagement into a course they have taught and will teach again in the near future. This will include synchronous and asynchronous work per the schedule outlined below. The redesign process will allow faculty to explore ways to promote active learning experiences and assessment through which students can gain an awareness and understanding of civic engagement as a lifelong responsibility.

This redesign opportunity can also be used to develop a course that could be included in the interdisciplinary collection of available Civic Engagement and Responsibility Minor electives, furthering ISU’s commitment to the values of informed and ethical global leadership and institutionalization of civic engagement across the curriculum.

The Course Redesign Project will:

Afford course instructors the opportunity to integrate their curricular interests with civic engagement components and Civically Engaged Learning Goals.
Further ISU’s commitment to the values of equity, diversity, inclusion and access and community engagement through the institutionalization of civic engagement across the curriculum.
Broaden the interdisciplinary collection of available electives relevant to students’ areas of study.

Attendance

Participants must be present at all sessions. If you cannot attend all meetings, we ask that you apply again next summer and allow another person who can commit to the entire workshop to attend.

Summer Institute

Please note that, due to work expectations and stipend considerations, individuals are limited to participating in one Center for Integrated Professional Development Design Cohort experience, including (Re)Design Your Course for Civic Engagement, per Summer Institute.

Proposal Information

Potential participants will be asked to provide the following information:

Name
Rank
Department/School
Proposed course number and title
Anticipated delivery of redesigned course
Approximate course enrollment and student demographics (e.g., juniors and seniors, Marketing majors or freshman and sophomores, General Education course, etc.)
An approximately 300-word narrative explaining your interest in this redesign project. Also, explain how you envision integrating civic engagement into an existing course or in developing a course new to you.
A copy of the syllabus for the course you are planning to redesign

Questions?

Contact Dr. Dana Karraker at dmkarra@ilstu.edu or (309) 438-5110.

Learning Goals
Workshop Dates
Eligibility, Award Amounts, and Requirements

By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

Identify civic competencies that connect with discipline and course content
Design a course which includes civic engagement components (learning outcomes, assignments, syllabus language describing civic engagement)
Develop a plan for a specific course assessment where students demonstrate some aspect of civic learning
Formulate a plan for communicating the value of civic engagement to students (course outcomes, syllabus statements)
Incorporate elements related to civic engagement knowledge, values, skills, and/or attitudes into a course
Articulate the connection between civic engagement and diversity, equity, and inclusion 
Develop a plan for possible scholarly activity (e.g., design a study, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, ideas for conference presentations in your discipline, the University-Wide Teaching & Learning Symposium, possible publication outlets, presentation at the Civic Engagement Day, design a student research project)
Create a plan to cultivate mutually beneficial partnerships with communities

Dates of Workshops (Participation required at all sessions):

Session I: Thursday, May 16, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Introduction and conceptualization of civic engagement, pedagogical practices, and the role of civic education across various disciplines.

Asynchronous Work: May 16 to 21
Principles of Partnerships. Complete the module posted in Canvas

Session II: Tuesday, May 21, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Developing community engaged classrooms & community partners: community visits & community needs driven & reflective service learning. Community field trip and Lunch and Learn with Community Partners

Session III: Thursday May 23, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Articulating transformational goals for the redesigned courses as well as creating and incorporating academically rigorous learning outcomes that integrate elements of civic engagement and applying active, reflective learning experiences that support learning outcomes.

Asynchronous Work: May 25 to May 30
Matching learning outcomes with assessments and learning experiences. Office hours for those who would like more support with this process

Session IV: Thursday, May 30, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Reflection and assessment as well as opportunities for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.
Incorporating civically engaged learning outcomes and designing effective formative and summative assessment of student learning related to redesigned course learning outcomes

Asynchronous Work: May 30 to June 8
Reflecting on the process and sharing your redesigned course.

Eligibility
This is a university-wide initiative. All tenured, tenure-track, and full-time non-tenure track instructors as well as staff with teaching responsibilities are eligible to apply. Eight (8) course instructors from any discipline, will be selected.

Award Amount

Faculty awards will include a stipend of $1000.
A partial stipend, $800, will be awarded upon satisfactory completion of the summer workshop.
The other $200 will be awarded upon completion of the expectations for sharing course information, as described in the Workshop.

Workshop Requirements
To receive the stipend, cohort participants must complete all of the following:

Participants must be present at all sessions. If this is not possible, we ask that you apply again next summer and allow another person who can commit to the entire workshop to attend.
A (re)deigned syllabus which includes civic engagement components (learning outcomes, assignments, specific language if the course is an elective for the minor). Syllabi will be included in a repository archiving courses that have been designed with a civic engagement focus
A plan for a specific course assessment where students demonstrate some aspect of civic learning
A plan for possible scholarly activity (design a study, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, ideas for conference presentations in your discipline, ISU’s Teaching and Learning Symposium, Civic Engagement Celebration, possible publication outlets)
A written reflection on the course redesign process
Continued contact with the Center for Integrated Professional Development, the Center for Civic Engagement, and the Civic Engagement and Responsibility Minor to share data about the impact of civic engagement on student learning.